Pietersen refuses to take Australians lightly

KEVIN PIETERSEN has warned England to beware the threat of Australia in the opening Ashes Test despite the tourists having lost the nucleus of the line-up which completed a series whitewash the last time the sides met.

KEVIN PIETERSEN has warned England to beware the threat of Australia in the opening Ashes Test despite the tourists having lost the nucleus of the line-up which completed a series whitewash the last time the sides met.

The Hampshire batsman has suffered fluctuating fortunes in the two Ashes series he has played in, enjoying England’s stunning triumph in 2005 and then being part of the side who slumped to a 5-0 thrashing Down Under in 2006-07.

During both those series he got used to seeing an Australian team-sheet including names like Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath who helped them dominate world cricket for over a decade.

All six of those major figures have now retired, however, and England will face an unfamiliar line-up when the opening Test in Cardiff begins tomorrow.

“Any team that loses Warne, McGrath, Hayden, Langer, Gilchrist and Martyn are not going to be as strong because those guys are as close to legends of the game as you can possibly get and some of them are legends of the game,” said Pietersen.

“This team is going to be weakened but the Australian way is to come out and be fierce, be competitive and be dominant in what they do.

“They are forceful in their approach and they try and throw a lot of punches early in a Test match and early in a series.

“It doesn’t matter who they put out, it’s going to be tough for us to go out there and do the business.

“We can’t talk about who they don’t have or who they have got because when those guys pull on that baggy green cap, which is so historic to them, they are a fierce side – three months ago they beat South Africa in South Africa so this team is good.”

Australia’s success over England during the last decade has been built upon an aggressive approach, typified by characters like Hayden at the top of the innings while McGrath consistently made early in-roads with the ball.

Those chief protagonists have been replaced by emerging talents, but Pietersen still expects the same brand of cricket when the match gets under way.

“I expect it to be aggressive because Australia come hard at the start of a series,” he said.

“I know in the last two series I’ve played they have come very hard, but the guy who came hard at us twice is Pigeon (Glenn McGrath) and he’s not here any more so they will have to rely on someone else.

“It will be a big, big series because they have got some very good players in their side and we’re also going to come out hard and come out fighting because we’re not scared.”

England have tried to play down the importance of the series and Pietersen and co have attempted to shut out the frenzied build-up to what is the highlight of the summer for most cricket fans.

“As a cricketer you obviously understand the rivalry but if you try and make it out to be bigger than it is, you can get yourself into a bit of a tizz,” said Pietersen.

“You can put too much pressure on yourself and turn it into something that it’s not.

“I have the confidence that the guys in the dressing room will perform. If I have a bad series England can still win.”